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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—MAY, 1964— PAGE 5-B t cnYEARS IN REVIEW Legislation 475 Legislative Actions pertain to Race, Schools (Continued from Page 1-B) addressed to the New Orleans desegre gation controversy and many de- dared unconstitutional by federal courts. In I960 alone, the Louisiana General Assembly in four sessions pro duced 81 pieces of legislation pertain- , n g to school-race matters. Twenty- two acts and resolutions—practically the entire agenda of the First Extra ordinary Session of 1960—were invali dated by a three-judge U.S. district court on Nov. 30 of that year. Virginia, where “massive resistance” was the official policy prior to court decisions that knocked out key laws intended to preserve or maximize school segregation, produced 56 laws on the subject during the 10 years, including measures setting up a tui tion-grants plan identified by Virgin ians as the “freedom-of-choice” pro gram and copied by several other states. Varying Consequence Georgia legislators have brought forth 48 measures since the 1954 de cisions. Arkansas’ total is 44, Mississip pi’s 40, South Carolina’s 36 and Ala bama’s 35. Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina together approved 45 actions of varying consequence. But numbers of legislative actions have not proved to be fully indicative of policies or attitudes—even of those officials with the strongest pro-seg regation policies. Some office holders as Gov. Jimmie H. Davis of Louisiana and his supporters, subscribed to a “massive legislative” policy; other ad ministrations, such as those of Govs. John Patterson and George Wallace in Alabama, preferred to stand on a relatively small group of new laws. Some of the laws have never been invoked, even though they may re main on the statute books and have either been upheld or remain untested j>y the courts for constitutionality. In ennessee, for instance, a majority of lts ^ measures addressed to school- race matters are “enabling acts”— per- ! MSS ' ve as to their use by local school hoards. All the approximately 475 legislative actions in the 17 states have fallen generally into about 20 categories, “rough some relatively minor mea- ^have been limited to single states : rrns " aVC n °^ ^ a ^ en mto regional pat- Scores Unconstitutional Scores of acts and resolutions have e n declared unconstitutional in fed ora] ci Prised courts, including those that com- but massive resistance” actions, l- w ® majority of them remain on the in ’ though in many cases not 01 actual effect. •Among the first types of measures to adopted Southern legislatures cuii- 6 ™ ose designed to ease state re- •lav er " 6nts un der which pupils might 0 f ® ° attend school with members stj t A_? er ra ce. All 11 of the Southern kgisl t' Ut n ° h°rder states—took some PuIsq 3 1Ve act * on Pertaining to com- school attendance. Four states atteml^ eliminated compulsory- a '°difie*? Ce requirements; Seven either •Pactcrl ex istmg attendance laws or aac e y- °? l f r laws affecting attend- tayjL lrg ! nia restored compulsory at- local h 2 enforcement in allowed parents to A. c ^ children from school, states . TThig mainstay of Southern of fgd ac ?2 readjustments in the light bec n tlo y or< ^ ere< d desegregation has atent 1 6 pu pil-assignment or place- U Som^ 5 " ® uc h laws—enacted in all coyjt t s laics— withstood early held , two of them having been hce, ^ ?, ^constitutional” on their '^sp ec i , j ve come to be widely used P^de < y when applications are Pupn school transfers. ■ariou, a s si gnment laws prescribe ’’hdiug a , Cto rs other than race for 'hich .administrative decisions on 'ourts ^ 001 a chUd shall attend. U.S. a ear U os 1958 noted that there ' Jjn stitm;° SSi , bll ity °f their being un- Sot .! 0nall y. applied. In a more ‘ 1J( ^ c iarv ^ Ul( ^ e ^ e ” case, the federal 0r em Phasized that an assign- " a dec aceme nt law cannot be used r* be Nation plan in itself. It 2**t c °nstitutionaUy applied, the » hvisu. ’ ° , y after desegregation is established. 5act«d m application but also • ’lessee , Southern states except A?®- Wel P . border-state Okla- e ” law Var ^ et i es °f “freedom-of- s designed to prevent or Possibility of children of one race being forced to attend school with children of another race. These took several forms. A number of them sought specifically to maintain both biracial and uniracial schools, and courts held against such concepts. Also called a “freedom-of-choice” concept (especially in Virginia) has been the tuition-grant plan, adopted in eight states. Under such programs, public funds are to be provided with which children may attend schools other than those public schools to which they regularly would be assigned. Seven states limit the grants for use in nonsectarian private schools in lieu of attending public schools; Virginia allows use of the grants to attend not only private nonsectarian schools but also public schools outside a pupil’s regular attendance zone. In addition to Virginia, states with active tuition-grants programs include Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama. A number of private schools have been established specifically to operate under these programs, but the funds may also be used in pre-estab lished nonsectarian private schools. Mississippi has not yet launched a tuition-grant or private-school pro gram authorized by its legislature. North Carolina has made no use of its tuition-grant program. Legislative action specifically author izing or encouraging private schools to be used in lieu of desegregated pub lic schools developed in four of the tuition-grant states: Alabama, Georgia Louisiana and Virginia, also in Florida during earlier years. Sale or lease of public schools for private-school use was made possible under laws en acted in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia. Running Debate A running debate has continued up to the present as to the efficacy of tuition-grant programs, either as a means of providing an alternative to biracial public schools or as a step toward increased freedom of the in dividual, which some proponents call it. But such programs continue, and are being developed increasingly in some states. Most states have produced “pres sure-valve” measures—most of them little-used—to be applied in the event of school desegregation crises. Three states eliminated constitutional re quirements that public schools be maintained. All Southern states ex cept Tennessee acted to permit closing of public schools under certain cir cumstances or in some instances to require automatic closure in the event of desegregation. Governors or other public officials have been granted various emergency powers, including the power to close schools in some instances, under en actments in Florida, Georgia, Louisi ana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia. In other states, Arkansas for example, governors and other officials have acted in some instances under terms of other statutes such as police- power provisions. Withholding public funds from de segregated schools has been the sub ject of laws in Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Virginia. Discussion and litigation has developed from such laws, but their application was felt mostly in Texas, where the legisla ture made state funds to desegregated schools conditional on approval of de segregation by voters in a referendum. The state attorney general in 1962 de clared the law unconstitutional, after it had continued in effect about five years. Prince Edward In Prince Edward County, Va., one of the communities included in the 1954 Supreme Court decision, the county commissioners for several years have simply refused to appropriate funds for any public schools and none have been operated. A type of “pressure-valve” law so far not invoked in public schools in connection with segregation-desegre gation issues is the “segregation-by sex” measure, adopted in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Tex as. The legislators suggested that ob jections to racial desegregation might be lessened if boys and girls were in separate schools. Ten of the 17 Southern and border states have divided evenly during the past decade in their legislative actions as to designating educational programs, schools or pupils by race. While racial designations were newly required by actions taken in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Vir ginia, they were removed, for one reason or another, by Alabama, Mis souri, North Carolina and West Vir ginia—and Virginia reversed its policy. The seven states without recent laws on race-designations pursue vary ing policies. At least three border states—Kentucky, Maryland and Okla homa—where school desegregation is considerably advanced, still have ref erences to races in their basic school laws, although they are considered moot now. In contrast, some Deep South states are without racial refer ences in their school-administrative laws although the schools remain largely uniracial. In the midst of controversies, liti gation and various problems involving race in education, nine states put laws or resolutions on their records providing for legal defense for school board members, administrators and others involved as defendants in law suits seeking desegregation. Revised Tenure Teachers and other school personnel have been affected by some legisla tion. Measures revising tenure pro visions have been enacted, and some legislatures have prescribed discipline of teachers for violation of policies on the school segregation-desegregation question. Provisions along these lines were enacted in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina and Vir ginia. Five states that provide for pri vate-school education, enacted laws to protect the jobs of public-school teachers transferring to private-school faculties. Those states include Ala bama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Virginia. In the face of mounting legal actions seeking school desegregation, 10 of the 11 Southern states (excepting North Carolina) enacted new laws or tight- (See LEGISLATION, Page 6-B) WEST VIRGINIA Desegregation of Schools Completes Full Circle CHARLESTON S CHOOL DESEGREGATION has come full circle in West Vir ginia in the 10 years since the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation in the public schools. At the beginning of the decade, the state experienced white protests against desegregation and Negro suits against segregation. After a period of quiet during the middle of the decade, re newed protests and court suits have returned to the school scene. This in no way means there has not been school desegregation. On the contrary, every county with Negroes in the population has a desegregated school policy; all state-owned col leges and universities have mixed stu dent bodies, and practically every priv ately owned college is desegregated. In fact, statistics show that West Virginia has moved farther away from a segregated school program since the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 outlawed separation of the races than any other border or Southern state affected by that action. This change did not occur, however, without public turmoil, court action and property destruction. Dem onstrations occurred in many areas in protest of the desegregation effort; nine suits were filed in federal court; and at least one school has been destroyed, apparently by racists. White Boycott Such trouble does not appear to be at an end. In the resort town of White Sulphur Springs last month, students boycotted the high school and pa raded for two days. Court cases have been reopened in Raleigh and Mercer counties, accompanied by warnings from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that other suits might follow. Within days after the Supreme Court handed down its historic ruling in the spring of 1954, the West Virginia Board of Education issued an execu tive order calling a halt to segrega tion in the colleges under its jurisdic tion. Shortly thereafter, the West Vir ginia University Board of Governors extended to all branches of the uni versity a desegregation order that had been applicable in the WVU graduate school for 10 years. The state school superintendent at that time, W. W. Trent, suggested that the 55 county boards of education bring their systems into compliance with the ROHRBOUGH SMITH court ruling. With full autonomy in this field, the county boards did not act with the promptness of the state boards. It wasn’t until about 1960 that the last racial barriers came down at the county level. During the intervening years, there was a rash of anti-Negro demonstra tions at the doors of public schools; one judge threatened to fill the jails until the feet of demonstrators stuck out the windows; a consolidated school was destroyed by dynamiting; other schools burned mysteriously; and the NAACP went to court to force hold out counties to desegregate. The first county system to order de segregation was Monongalia. Another that fell into line early was Taylor. The superintendents of these systems —Rex M. Smith and R. Virgil Rohr- bough—have since been elevated to the office of state superintendent, with Rohrbough the first and Smith second. Both elected to push for desegregation with all deliberate speed. Only one case has gone to trial to force a county to desegregate. This was in Greenbrier County, which has strong Southern sympathies. After two days of testi mony U.S. Dis trict Judge Ben Moore worked out an agreement for voluntary de segregation with contesting law yers, and the bar riers soon fell in six other counties where similar suits had been brought. After 10 years of desegregation, West Virginia still has at least 88 all-Negro schools. This fact comes from a study by the two-year-old State Human Rights Commission, which has urged the State Board of Education to adopt a policy of eliminating all Negro schools in the next five years. The commission’s study, admittedly incom plete, says there are 76 elementary schools, two junior high schools and 10 high schools serving only Negro pupils. McDowell and Fayette lead all other counties in the number of such schools, with others existing in Kana wha, Mercer, Raleigh, Jefferson, Mingo and Wyoming counties. Higher Education In the area of higher education, de segregation has been even more pro nounced. Every state-owned college and university has mixed student bodies, except Glenville from time to time, and Glenville is without Negroes only because it is located in a rural, agriculturally orientated region with few Negroes in the population. West Virginia has experienced de segregation in reverse on the campuses of West Virginia State and Bluefield colleges. Large numbers of white stu dents have enrolled at these institu tions, which operated for Negroes only prior to 1954. Today, almost 70 per cent of the student body at West Vir ginia State is white. MOORE Major Legislation on School Desegregation 17 Southern and Border States, Plus District of Columbia LEGISLATION X - < u Q u m o u Cfl H m H > £ .. X X X X X X X X X X .. X X X X X X X X X X Comnulsorv Attendance Amended or Repealed .. X X X X X X X X X X X Emergency Powers to Officials X X X X X X Freedom of Choice—Seg./Deseg .. X X • X X X X X X X X Human Rights Commissions X X X X X X ** X .. X X X X X X X X X Legal Defense Authorized .. X X X X X X X X X Limitations of Federal Powers Proposed .. X X X X X X X X X Private Schools: Authorized/Encouraged .. X X X X X Property Sold/Leased to .. X X X X X X X Pupil Assignment .. X X X X X X X X X X X Racial Designations: Removed .. X X X X X Required X X X X X Scholarships Out-of-State .. X X X X X XXX X X X X X X X X X Segregation by Sex .. X X X X X Segregation Committees .. X ** X X X X X X X ** X Sovereignty Commissions .. X X X X X X State Constitutional Provision for Public Schools Removed .. .. X X X Teachers: Tenure/Removal .. X X X X X X Protected in Private Schools .. X X X X X Tuition Grants to Schools/Students .. X X X X X X X X Withheld Aid to Deseg. Schools .. X X X X X X X *—D.C. Board of Commissioners **—Appointed without legislation NOTE: The table indicates types of legislation passed, not the number. One bill often included several features; several bills might duplicate each other. Several laws included have been held unconstitutional or been repealed.